The company suffered an embarrassing setback in August when its IPO, which was set to become one of the largest by a Chinese company in New York in the last three years, was suddenly derailed at the 11th hour. It’s been largely quiet on the matter since then, though it has continued to file updated materials with the U.S. securities regulator, including an updated prospectus filed on Wednesday this week.

But financials aside, the company once again showcased its position as a leader in the autonomous driving space, also on Wednesday, by announcing a new strategic partnership with leading shared ride operator Uber (NYSE:UBER). That partnership looks quite significant, adding not only Uber’s brand to WeRide’s worldwide fleet of robotaxis, but potential to become a major new source of business.

Such tie-ups will be important for WeRide as it tries to generate some serious revenue with the commercialization of its technology. The company generated just 150 million yuan ($21 million) in the first half of this year and 402 million yuan in 2023 – hardly impressive for a company that was worth $5.1 billion at the time of its last fundraising. By comparison, it spent 517 million yuan on R&D in the first six months of this year alone, roughly equal to its revenue for the 18 months to June.

WeRide currently has autonomous driving permits for its fleet of robotaxis in China, Singapore, the UAE and the U.S., and operates in 30 cities in seven countries across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Notably, the latest announcement says that Uber and WeRide do not “contemplate any launches in the United States or China.” What’s more, WeRide’s robotaxis are still in the testing phase in the few other markets where it has permits, meaning the Uber partnership will likely be relatively limited for now.

The announcement added some positive fuel to WeRide’s story, keeping its name in the headlines after its embarrassing last-minute decision to delay in its U.S. IPO. The company is vying for attention in an increasingly crowded field of Chinese autonomous driving concept stocks, including Hong Kong-listed iMotion (1274.HK) and U.S-listed Hesai (NASDAQ:HSAI).

In addition, Toyota-backed robotaxi startup Pony.ai and BYD-backed autonomous driving software company Momenta have both been green-lighted by the Chinese securities regulator to make U.S. IPOs. And auto chip designers Horizon Robotics and Black Sesame Technology have applied to list in Hong Kong.

The listing would have raised more than $400 million, including up to $120 million from the sale of 6.5 million American depositary shares (ADS) for between $15.50 and $18.50. WeRide said that global auto parts giant Robert Bosch had indicated an interest in buying about $100 million worth of the IPO shares, equal to 90% or more of the stock being offered. The rest of the fundraising would have come through another $320 million in concurrent private placements, led by a $100 million investment from Alliance Ventures, the venture capital fund of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi alliance.

“We would not be able to complete this offering and listing before the CSRC completes its review of our updated filing materials and issues a new filing notice,” it said, without indicating when it thought it might receive a new green light. The approval process is relatively new, launched in March last year, and appears to usually take a few months. But it’s possible WeRide’s new application could get the green light more quickly since it only includes updated information of a previously approved application.